Fruit tree pruner and harvesting machine

ABSTRACT

An agriculture vehicle has a mobile body and an arm. The arm has a first end supported upon the mobile body and a second end movable relative the mobile body. A cutting tool is operatively supported upon the second end of the arm. The cutting tool includes a blade configured for rotation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

No Federally sponsored Research or Development Grants, CRADAS, or othergovernment funds have been utilized in developing this invention. Onlythe inventor's funds have been applied to developing this invention andsubmitting the invention for a patent.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTINGCOMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to methods and apparatus for pruning of fruitbearing trees such as apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries,avocadoes and citrus. And also, this invention relates to methods andapparatus for harvesting of fruit from fruit bearing trees such asapples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, avocadoes and citrus.

The methods allow for individual removal of fruit that will meet thestandards for the commercial fresh-market fruit requirements and willnot require the fruit to be handled or removed by human hands. Theharvesting process is automated and only requires the oversight andinteractive control adjustments to the harvesting system.

This invention also relates to methods and apparatus for pruning ofgrape vines, and the harvesting of grapes that will meet the standardsfor the commercial fresh-market fruit requirements.

The pruning and harvesting of tree fruits for the premium fruit markethas been a labor intensive process utilizing hand picking and carefulhandling of fruits. The proper pruning of the tree determines the accessand location of the fruit that is harvested and are closely related.This pruner and harvester takes into consideration of the relationshipbetween pruning and the position of fruit on a limb. Also many fruittrees are pruned during the winter season when the trees are free ofleaves and allow the trunks and major branches of the tree to bedetermined as to their location in three-dimensional space. The fruit islocated along these major branches and depending on the fruit, thelocation can be determined within inches. A graphical image of the treeis stored in a geographic information system identified by its globallocation. The harvester is mounted on a low motorized Self PropelledVehicle (SPV) that moves between the tree rows. The SPV will have theappropriated number of robotic arms on each side. The harvester willharvest the fruit by cutting the fruit stem and the fruit will beremoved by a vacuum hose that will handle the fruit without bruising orbumping the fruit against each other or against the branches of thetrees. The fruit will be removed from the half of the tree nearest thefruit harvester. The fruit will be sorted and packaged to preventfurther damage. The harvester will be driven between the rows of fruittrees during harvesting.

2. Description of Prior Art

A number of approaches have been taken to develop a mechanical treepruner and tree topper. These systems mechanically chop or cut branchesfrom the trees. Most of the systems also require hand pruning to prunethe tree to it final configuration. The pruning and harvesting systemsare not combined, but trellis systems have been utilized to make themanual pruning and manual harvesting more efficient. There are a numberof mechanical pruning apparatus that use rotating cutter blades. Anexample is Rotary Blade Pruning Machine U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,056 B1 andreferences sited that prune or top the tree along a straight profile.The is no current pruning machine that can cut selected limbs andbranches individually and collect an store the data of the prunedprofile of the tree to be utilized to locate the fruit duringharvesting.

Different approaches have been taken in resent years to developharvesting machines that will quickly and efficiently remove fruit fromtrees in a condition that the fruit is suitable for market. Some successhas been accomplished for very durable fruits and nuts, butunfortunately no approach has been successful for premium fruits grownfor our commercial markets and our fresh markets. Examples of these areapples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries and citrus.

Shakers have been used with various catching apparatus to shake the treetrunk and catch the fruit that is dislodged. This has not beensuccessful for premium commercial fruits, due to fruit bruising anddamage from striking branches and limbs on the way down to the catchmechanism. There are a number of approaches to this effort including(Peterson, D., U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,179; Chiel and Zehavi, U.S. Pat. No.5,816,037; Peterson and Kornecki, U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,529; Daniels, U.S.Pat. No. 5,946,896).

Another approach utilizes a branch or limb impactor to shake theindividual limbs and catch the fruit on a soft conveyor. An example ofthis approach is shown in Peterson, D. L. and Wolford S. D., U.S. Pat.No. 6,442,920 B1.

Robotic Fruit Harvester, U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,757 use a commercial robotarm. Another Self Propelled Robotic Fresh Fruit Picker is shown inGeorge Gray, U.S. Pat. No. 7,540,137 B2 which uses curved rigid tubesthat are rotated to access the fruit and then convey the fruit down thetube. Louis L. Bernheim, George M Harris, U.S. Pat. No. 2,968,907 uses apneumatic fruit gripper and straight tube to guide the fruit out of thetree, but it is a manual application and uses gravity to transfer thefruit. There has been limited success in some applications with some ofthe harvesters, but currently there is no commercial harvester beingutilized for the fresh market fruits, There is no dual purpose prunerand harvester developed for the tree fruit production.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to both tree pruning and fruit harvestingin that the functions are closely related in determining the location ofthe fruit on the tree.

For the pruning operation the pruner and harvester utilizes the SelfPropelled Vehicle (SPV), the robotic arms, Global Positioning System(GPS) and Digital Imaging Systems (DIS). It also uses a heavier dutybranch power cutter mounted on the end effecter of the robotic arm. Eachtree will be located by its GPS location, imaged from the machine andthe machine will then prune the tree based on software pruningalgorithms. The pruning algorithms will allow the trunk, a selectednumber of major branches, and a selected number of fruit bearing limbsto remain as part of the tree. The remainder will be pruned from thetree. There are on the order of ten to fifteen major branches in mostcommercial fruit bearing trees today. The limbs will be pruned to allowthe desired fruit spacing based on the fruit buds at the time ofpruning. The tree will be pruned from the bottom up. The pruner will cutup the limbs until they fall to the ground. Once the tree is pruned thedigital image of the tree is obtained and stored in a GeographicInformation System (GIS) including the GPS global location as theidentifier of the tree, and the GPS location of the machine. This willbe key information that will be utilized by the harvester during theharvesting phase.

For the fruit harvesting operation the pruner and harvester utilizes theSPV, the robotic arms, GPS, GIS, and DIS that are utilized during thepruning operation. During fruit harvesting the pruner and harvester alsouses a power stem cutter, a fruit catcher, a vacuum hose mounted on theend effectors of the robotic arm, a fruit collector system, and a RadarRanging System (RRS) to help locate the trunk and major branches. Thelocation of the fruit and the order of picking will be predeterminedbased on the barren tree image at pruning that is stored in the GIS database. Between pruning and harvesting, the picking algorithms for eachtree will be generated utilizing a computer program that will build a3-D stick image of each fruit tree. A 3-D profile for the tree halffacing the harvester is generated, and picking algorithms are generatedthat will move the end effecter along the limbs and branches and utilizethe imaging system on the end effecter to home in on the fruit to cutthe stems. The fruit catcher will be held just under the fruit and whenthe fruit stem is cut the fruit will drop a very short distance anddirected into the vacuum hose that will suck the fruit into the fruitcollector. The fruit collector will catch the fruit and convey eachpiece of fruit to the fruit handling system, which will pack the fruitin fruit bins or fruit trays that will be placed on pallets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pruner and harvester configured forharvesting.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pruner and harvester configured forpruning

FIG. 3 is a front view of the pruner and harvester.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the pruner and harvester.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the pruner and harvester.

FIG. 6 is a detailed side view of the tree pruner end effecter.

FIG. 7 is a detailed bottom view of the tree pruner end effecter.

FIG. 8 is a detailed top view of the tree pruner end effecter.

FIG. 9 is a detailed side view of the stem cutter and fruit catcher endeffecter.

FIG. 10 is a detailed bottom view of the stem cutter.

FIG. 11 is a detailed top view of the stem cutter.

FIG. 12 is a top view of the fruit collector.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the fruit collector.

FIG. 14 is a detail view of the Stem Cutter Shear Blade.

FIG. 15 is a detail view of the Stem Cutter Knife blade.

FIG. 16 is a detail view of the Pruning Shear Blade.

FIG. 17 is a detail view of the Pruner Knife Blade.

FIG. 18 is a depiction of the 3-D stick image of ½ of the fruit tree.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INENTION

The present invention relates to fruit harvesting generally asconfigured in the FIG. 1 indicated as 1 and relates to tree pruninggenerally and configured in FIG. 2 indicated as 2. The fruit pruner andharvester machine is propelled through the orchard on a Self-PropelledVehicle (SPV) is generally indicated as 3. The SPV consists of astructural frame 4, hydrostatic drives 5, low profile wheels 6, operatorplatform 7, motor and hydrostatic transmission 8, and electricalgenerator 9. These items are generally commercially available. The SPVcan be provided with self-leveling options that will keep the framelevel for orchards on hill sides.

The robotic arms are shown in FIG. 1 through FIG. 5 and are indicated asforward arm 10, middle arm 11, and rear arm 12. There are six roboticarms two each of 10, 11, and 12 shown in these figures, but the numberof arms may be varied depending on the type of fruit and picking ratedesired. The arms are powered by hydraulic cylinders 13 and ComputerBased Control System (CBCS) indicated as 14. The hydraulics can also beswitched to manual and operated by the operator utilizing the joystick15.

The Global Positioning System Guidance System (GPS) is indicated as 16(FIG. 4) with the GPS antenna 17 (FIG. 4) mounted on top of the SPVframe to get a clear view of the sky. The GPS Guidance System locatesthe SPV at all times and drives the SPV on a centerline between the twotree rows, and provides a reference for referencing all the datareceived from the Digital Imaging Systems (DIS) 18 (FIG. 4); RadarRanging System (RRS) 18 d,f (FIG. 4); and the CBCS 14 (FIG. 4).

A DIS cameras, indicated as 18 a,b,c,d, (FIG. 5) provide dual images ofthe tree and references the images to their GPS location.

The RRS is indicated as 18 e, f, (FIG. 4) measures the distance to thetree trunks, and major branches, and then the distance is referenced tothe GPS location of the SPV.

All of these sensing systems are utilized in the tree pruning processand the fruit harvesting process. There are two duplicate systems one onthe right side and one on the left side of the SPV that aremirror-imaged and each system operates independent of the other system.The speed of the machine is controlled by the operator.

The tree pruning process is described in detail with the machine setupin the pruning configuration as shown in FIG. 2. The SPV 3 is fittedwith the larger Power Pruning Assembly 26 on the robotic arms 10, 11,and 12. The fruit catcher 20 and fruit vacuum hoses 21 are removed.

The operator uses the GPS 16 to align the machine to the center of twotree rows, or in the case of an edge row one sets the distance of themachine from the tree row. The operator initializes each of the roboticarms 10, 11, 12 to the start pruning position. The operator will thenlocate the first tree trunk on each side of the SPV 3 by guiding themost forward right robotic arm 10 until the end effecter just touchesthe trunk of the first tree. The operator will do this task by operatingthe joystick 15. Then the operator will locate the second tree on theleft side of the SPV 3 by guiding the most forward robotic arm 10 untilthe end effecter just touches the trunk of the second tree. Note: theleft side robotic arms are staggered ahead of the right side roboticarms on the machine. Once the machine is aligned and initialized theoperator the checks that all interlocks are good and selects theauto-pruning operation.

The CBCS 14 FIG. 2 will start pruning algorithms with the selection ofan auto-pruning operation. The front robotic arms 10 will first makeseveral passes using the Power Pruner Assembly 26 FIG. 2 to clear alllimbs below the lower profile set for the trees. The DIS cameras 18a,b,c,d (FIG. 5) will process a number of dual digital images of thetree, and the superimposition of these images starting at the trunk willprovide the data to develop a vector-based-stick-image of the treetrunk, limbs, and branches. The vector-based-image is represented by theimage provided in FIG. 13. The CBCS 14 (FIG. 5) will be assigned aprofile algorithm that will consist of about one-third of the tree toeach robotic arm. The front robotic arm 10 will be assigned a profilefor the lower one-third of the tree, the middle robotic arm 11 will beassigned a profile for the middle one-third of the tree, and the rearrobotic arm 12 will be assigned a profile for the top one-third of thetree, and the top profile. The DIS 18 will be imaging the tree as it ispruned with the DIS cameras 18 a,b,c,d (FIG. 5). The tubular pathsaround the stick images of the tree branches represent the exclusionareas for the pruning profiles for the half of the tree being pruneddepicted in FIG. 13. When the rear robotic arm 12 completes its pruningprofile, the rear DIS camera 18 e will store and identify the finalpruning image. This image data is stored in the GIS database so the datacan be retrieved based on the location of the tree. The process iscontinued to the next tree in the row when the front robotic arm 10completes running the profile assigned to it, and continues by pruningall limbs below the lower profile set for the trees. The process repeatsitself for the next tree in each row as described above.

The fruit harvesting process is described in detail with the machinesetup in the fruit harvesting configuration as shown in FIG. 1. The SPV3 is fitted with the smaller Stem Cutting Assembly 19 on the roboticarms 10, 11, and 12. The fruit catcher 20 (FIG. 7) and fruit vacuumhoses 21 (FIG. 7) will also be installed. The fruit vacuum hose will beattached to the fruit collector 22 (FIG. 4). The air flow for the vacuumis provided by the blower 32 (FIG. 4) which creates a vacuum over thewater in the fruit collectors 22 (FIG. 4).

The time between the pruning and harvesting is utilized to process thepruned tree images; generate a vector stick image of the tree trunk,major branches, and limbs; and generate an algorithm for locating thefruit in the tree based on the knowledge that the fruit sets on budsfrom the previous year. The computation time for generating the PickPath Algorithm for the robotic arms 10, 11, 12 will not impact theharvesting speed since it can be completed between pruning time andharvest time. The algorithm will consist of a specific pick path foreach robot arm 10, 11, 12, respectively, with the stem cutter assembly19 (FIG. 1) attached. The Pick Path Algorithm will be generated andstored in the GIS data base and will be downloaded to the harvester foreach tree in the orchard at the time it is harvested. Each tree will beidentified by the GPS location of the tree trunk.

The operator will use the GPS 16 (FIG. 1) to align the machine to thecenter line of two tree rows, in the case of an edge row set thedistance of the machine from the tree row based on the storedcoordinates that were collected during the pruning process above. Theoperator will then initialize each of the robotic arms 10, 11, 12 to thestart harvesting position. The operator will do this task by operatingthe joy stick 15 (FIG. 1). Once the machine is aligned and initialized,the operator checks that all interlocks are good and selects theauto-harvesting operation.

The CBCS 14 (FIG. 1) will start harvesting algorithms with the selectionof auto-harvesting operation. The front robotic arm 10 will in generalharvest the lower limbs of the tree, the middle arm 11 will harvest themiddle limbs of the tree, and the back robotic arm 12 will harvest thetop limbs of the tree.

Once the stem cutter 19 (FIG. 1, FIG. 9) is positioned to the Pick PathAlgorithm location, then a second algorithm is run that finds theclosest fruit and cuts the stems using the DIS camera 18 g,h,j (FIG. 9)mounted on the stem cutter assembly 19 (FIG. 9). When the DIS 18 (FIG.4) detects the fruit the stem is cut the second algorithm turns controlback to the Pick Path Algorithm. When the stem of the fruit is cut, thefruit falls a short distance to the fruit catcher 20 (FIG. 9), the airflowing in the vacuum hose 21 (FIG. 9), and moves the fruit individuallyto the fruit collector 22 (FIG. 4). The set of algorithms continue untilthe assigned pick path is completed for the robotic arm assigned to atree. The arm then initializes on the trunk of the next tree to beharvested and the process repeats itself The fruit collector 22 (FIG. 4)absorbs the energy of the fruit moving through the vacuum hoses 21(FIG. 1) by dropping the fruit into flowing water. The fruit handlingsystem 23 (FIG. 4) uses water to wash the fruit and move the fruit tothe elevator 24 (FIG. 4). As the fruit moves up the elevator 24 (FIG. 4)air is blown over the fruit to dry the surface water on the fruit. Theelevator raises the fruit up to the bin loader 25 (FIG. 5) that gentlyplaces the fruit into the fruit bin 32 (FIG. 5) or trays.

The Stem Cutter 19 and Fruit Catcher 20 are detailed in FIG. 9, FIG. 10,and FIG. 11, and utilize synchronized counter-rotating Stem Cutter ShearBlade 29 (FIG. 14) and Stem Cutter Knife Blade 30 (FIG. 15). The bladesare powered by a hydraulic motor 31 (FIG. 9). The fruit stem is capturedbetween the counter-rotating cutter knife and the shear blade to providefor a clean cut and does not transfer energy to the fruit that couldresult in bruising. The stem cutter is shaped so that the fruit cannotbe inserted into the cutting blades of the stem cutter.

The Power Pruner Assembly 26 is detailed in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8,and also utilizes synchronized counter-rotating Pruning Shear Blade 27(FIG. 16) and Pruning Knife Blade 28 (FIG. 17). The blades are poweredby a hydraulic motor 31 (FIG. 6). The pruner operates in the same manneras the stem cutter, except the size is scaled up to cleanly cut thelarger limbs.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. An agriculture vehicle comprising: a mobile body;an arm comprising a first end supported upon the mobile body and asecond end movable relative the mobile body; and a cutting tooloperatively supported upon the second end of the arm, the cutting toolcomprising a blade configured for rotation.
 12. The vehicle of claim 11wherein the blade comprises a first blade, the cutting tool furthercomprising a second blade, the first blade configured for rotation in afirst direction and the second blade configured for rotation in a seconddirection opposite to the first direction.
 13. The vehicle of claim 11wherein the blade comprises a central portion and cutting teethextending radially outward from the central portion.
 14. The vehicle ofclaim 11 further comprising a receptacle elevationally below andsupported upon the cutting tool.
 15. The vehicle of claim 11 wherein thecutting tool comprises a housing, and wherein only a portion of theblade is exposed from the housing. 16-28. (canceled)
 29. The vehicle ofclaim 11 wherein the cutting tool comprises a camera.
 30. The vehicle ofclaim 11 wherein the cutting tool comprises an elongated housing havingan opening at one end, and wherein the blade is positioned at the oneend of the elongated housing and configured to have only a portion ofthe blade exposed through the opening during rotation.
 31. The vehicleof claim 11 wherein the blade comprises a first blade configured forrotation and a second blade configured for rotation.
 32. The vehicle ofclaim 11 wherein the blade is powered by a hydraulic motor.
 33. Thevehicle of claim 11 wherein the blade comprises a knife blade configuredfor rotation and a shear blade configured for rotation, the knife andshear blades are configured for synchronized rotation.
 34. The vehicleof claim 11 wherein the cutting tool comprises an elongated housinghaving a first end opposite a second end, and wherein the blade ispositioned at the first end of the elongated housing and configured tohave only a portion of the blade exposed through the opening duringrotation, and wherein the second end has a hydraulic motor configured todrive the blade.
 35. An agriculture vehicle comprising: a framecomprising a self-propelled system configured to move the frame onwheels; an arm comprising a first end supported upon the frame and asecond end movable relative the frame; and a cutting tool operativelysupported upon the second end of the arm, the cutting tool comprising apair of blades spaced from each other and configured for rotation. 36.The vehicle of claim 35 further comprising a self-leveling optionconfigured to maintain the frame in a level position during movement.37. The vehicle of claim 35 further comprising a joystick inoperationally coupled to the arm for manual operation.
 38. The vehicleof claim 35 wherein the arm is powered by a hydraulic cylinder and aComputer Based Control System (CBCS).
 39. An agriculture vehiclecomprising: a frame comprising a Global Positioning System GuidanceSystem configured to guide the frame during movement; an arm comprisinga first end supported upon the frame and a second end movable relativethe frame; and a cutting tool operatively supported upon the second endof the arm, the cutting tool comprising a pair of blades spaced fromeach other and configured for rotation.
 40. The vehicle of claim 39further comprising a receptacle elevationally below and supported uponthe cutting tool.
 41. The vehicle of claim 40 further comprising a hoseextending between the receptacle and the frame.